Last month D and I were able to go with another couple to the Paella Wine & Beer Festival held at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.  I was able to score tickets through a Facebook contest, so that was nice.  Since it was an adult-only event, the kids stayed with my parents and we called it a date night.

I have had paella before, but have never seen it in such mass quantities.  There was some sort of competition, as we saw booths asking for votes.  However, the voting process was never made clear to us.  We just tried the ones that looked good.  As the evening progressed, a booth that had a long line was a good indication that their paella was a standout.  It is amazing how many iterations of paella there were: some tasted like fried rice, some were more of a pilaf, and the ingredients ranged from mussels and shrimp to rabbit.

The wine, beer, and sangria were also popular attractions of course.  (There was also Sparkling Ice drinks and water as a non-alcoholic alternative).  Some flamenco dancing rounded out the evening.  This was the first year of the festival, and there seemed to be a pretty good turnout.  It will be interesting to see if it returns to Orange County next year.